ADEN: Gunmen on a motor bike shot dead a senior Yemeni intelligence service officer on Thursday, in the latest of a string of drive-by shootings targeting the country’s top brass.

Col. Abdulrahman Mohammed Al-Shami was leaving his home in Sanaa’ at noon when one of the two unidentified gunmen opened fire on him and fled, a local security official said. The colonel died immediately.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack, but authorities have blamed militants linked to Al-Qaeda for a string of similar shootings that have killed more than 80 officers in various parts of Yemen over the past two years.

Tackling lawlessness in Yemen, which lies near important oil shipment routes is an international priority for the United States and other Western countries. It is home to an Al-Qaeda wing that has planned international bomb attacks.